this? >> well, the first thing i thought was how did it happen? because everything that i did and i would do like i would take paperwork that had all the important information and burn it up literally. and it was just the way they got it i have -- >> anderson: you worried about this. you been shred and destroying papers before. that is crazy. what did you think? >> i was shocked. frustrated, angry you know, we wait for the taxes and we have our plans we were hoping to get a big surprise for the kids which is the swing set for christmas and it did not happen. as a parent as a mother it's hurtful. >> did they catch the person who did it in your case? >> not that i know of. >> how long ago? >> this started actually february of 2012. >> anderson: and what do you do about it? when you called the irs were they helpful?

>> the first thing that happened -- >> anderson: that was a dumb question. i know the answer to that one. >> this is a huge problem because this is happening to the tune of $5.2 billion in lawsuits for the irs. the money they pay they have to pay you again. but it's taking forever, right what do they tell you? >> they tell you you will go through this step and that step. the first thing that happened we had to call the department which gave us to another department which was about fraud. and the line that i had to stand in was for hours and after that they tell you it will be 90 days which is more like nine months. >> right. what they tell you you will get your money right? >> yes,. >> which means the irs is paying this money twice. by the way they do not print money that money that is lost is your money. >> anderson: do you have any idea how this whoever it was got your information? >> it's crazy because it

happened two ways. the first was when they stole the information and filed our taxes and when we had the check on its way and it was delivered supposedly it got lost in the mail or was taken and cashed. it was crazy. soy mean so, i don't know if it was two separate entities. >> it sounds like it. and they have not caught anybody in the second one either? >> no. >> anderson: what has been the hardest part? >> wow. probably not being age to get what we wanted to. we had it all listed and planned out. >> anderson: getting that swing set for the kids. how do you tell that to your kids? >> were they expecting it? >> my daughter is like when she hears something. >> i told my children nothing when they were that age. >> she was really like disappointed and we have an empty spot in the backyard where we had the old one. and we thought we were going to buy it and she looks at it like

ok where is my swing set. >> anderson: right. we got to take a quick break and when we come back we will find out if you could be one of the most vulnerable. a u.s. attorney will reveal how you can protect yourself of becoming a victim of this new tax scam. we will be right back. [applause]

[applause] >> anderson: welcome back. today we are talking about money scams, someone steals your identity and files a tax return in yourin your name. how big a problem is this? >> this is an insidious problem affecting hundreds of thousands of citizens from all walks of life. that is why the u.s. attorneys from the country are working with their federal and local law enforcement agencies to fight this. >> anderson: who is committing the crimes? >> the perpetrators are again, they are from everywhere. we have employees from different organizations that access to social security numbers. and street criminals that this is the new crack cocaine. it's easy and less violent. a lot of gang members, drug traffickers are doing this. we have former nfl players have been involved in doing this. and we also have a former marine who scammed his fellow marines

in afghanistan while they were fighting for our country and took their id's and e-mailed that information to miami and they filed tax refunds. >> where are they getting the social security numbers from? >> a lot of the criminals go to folks inside institutions like hospitals, schools anyone who has access to all the social security numbers the people inside sell the numbers for hundreds of dollars. the masterminds make thousands. because they use the numbers to file. >> anderson: who is the most vulnerable? >> in the beginning you see elderly and children because they don't have earned income. so they don't have to file returns so their numbers are clean. and we have seen hospital patients. people in nursing homes. we had holocaust survivors who were victims because someone in the community center took their numbers and filed refunds. >> and the thing is this has led to a lot of violent crimes because now they are trying to

break in to get the social security numbers. tell us about the case in miami. >> this is a disturbing trend of violence. we had a postal carrier weeks away from being retired. was murdered shot twice in the chest and i'm proud to say that our hard-working prosecutors federal law enforcement agents and officers found the murderer. convicted him and he is now life in prison. >> and the post office worker was murdered to get the master key. >> yes the postal carrier they want the master key because it has access to all the mailboxes where the checks are going. and we have had postal carriers being mugged. >> anderson: you had a question. >> i filed with h and r block i have a daughter in college and i was told that there was a problem with the form at the irs and they were supposed to hold off until february to file. and sent my forms in in january and it's been eight weeks and i'm getting no answers to when i'm getting money back. i was told that h and r block

messed up 600,000 college forms. is this true? can i get reimbursed the money i paid? >> your question actually exemplifies the problem. those who have a problem because the refund was stolen or id's or an institution made a mistake you have to wait six months if not a year to get your refund. and if that is the case, what i advise you to do is that there is an id theft hotline for irs or call your police department if you have been a victim of id theft because the police department works with the u.s. attorneys in order to defeat this problem because a lot is a federal crime. but in your situation call the irs and find out what is going on. >> the government has to pay this money twice, right? >> absolutely. we get hit twice. irs pays the money to the folks to the criminals and then you

have to file to the actual taxpayer. >> what i do not you had it seems such an immense if not novel government waste why doesn't the irs figure out a system because can you catch these people if you cross reference it with the w2. the people take your social security number and makeup your job. if you have the w2 for that person you know they are a liar and can you catch that. why is that not happening? >> that is what they are trying to do it is a tsunami of fraud. it's been overwhelming. and irs is moving to that area. and they are trying to match the w2s with your tax return. irs was able to stop over $1.4 billion in 2011 on this type of fraud. but, again it's part of it. >> and how much went. >> we are thinking $5 billion a year. >> what are the best ways people can protect themselves? >> file early. you can only use your social security number once to file a return. if you file first you're beating

the criminal to the punch. the second thing you want to do is listen, don't use your mailbox in front of your home to send out your mail or your bank accounts or your bills. because when you put up that flag on your home you are sending a flag to the criminals to come to your mailbox to get your information that they can use. and third getting back to the violence because of homes are being broken into. cars are being broken into because these numbers are worth a lot. keep your financial information and documents in a safe. you can go to any hardware store and get a safe and put them in your homep that is a way of protecting yourself. >> anderson: and it's great advice. and i'm sorry this happened to you and i know you were saving that money for a swing set for your kids. and our friends at swing and slide heard your story, and they will be delivering and installing the cedar brooke wood playset in your backyard. very nice playset it is huge for your kids. and i thank you and the u.s.

attorney forking with here today. and for more ways to protect yourself go to andersoncooper.com. and coming up next grumpy the cat is here. we will be right back. [applause]

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[applause] >> anderson: back with the final 5 with judge marilyn milian. folks on the staff have never been as excited for a guest. she is an internet sensation. 60,000 twitter followers. not sure how the cat tweets. and here are some. horrible. grumpy cat. and as i said it's become an internet sensation. this is the worst. smile i am smiling. anyway she is her now with hush mom and uncle. welcome grumpy cat. [applause] >> so excited. >> anderson: welcome. wow.

[laughter] >> i can't stand it. [laughter] >> anderson: when did you realize that you had a internet star here? >> we didn't know. i took the first picture in arizona. and she looked cute so i posted it and everybody loved it. >> is that your arm? >> that is my arm. >> anderson: has grumpy cat always been grumpy looking? >> she has. >> anderson: i can hold her? >> the cat does not look happy to be here. >> you heard graumpy urniated on... noosh how old is the cat? >> 11 months. >> anderson: and she is happy. >> does she seem angry to you? [laughter] >> she looks grumpy but she is a happy cat.

>> is she always like this? >> anderson: her name is tatar sauce. >> my daughter named her. she is 11 years old and i work at a seafood restaurant. tartare sauce. >> anderson: and now grumpy cat is going to be in a commercial for friskies. >> we are here for the series and you can see the videos on-line at facebook/industries kiss. >> did you think it would get this big? >> no. >> how has it happened? your friends and more friends and it -- look at that face. that is how it happened. >> that was all the internet. we put it on at first and it went viral and it kept growing. >> anderson: we have a closer shot. let's take a look. >> will kitty play with it? celebrity edition. she is she up against today?

>> not just an object but a face that launched a thousand means. the one and the only... grumpy cat! grumpy cat. [applause] look at that scowl. [applause] >> anderson: how has grumpy cat how long did it take to shoot that? >> she was awake for an hour-and-a-half. she slept the whole day. >> anderson: we have a couple gifts for grumpy cat. we have happy pills here. [applause] and also a necklace grumpiest guest that we've had. >> thank you. >> congratulations on all the success with the cat. >> thank you. >> thank you for having us. >> anderson: we will be right back with more of the "final 5". [applause]

[applause] [applause] >> anderson: grumpy cat. i like that picture. >> i want mine and i want yours. >> anderson: they do look alike. there is that other cat that i

looked more like. couple news items. first of you will all theal -- the postal service will continue mail delivery on saturday. that is good news for a lot of people. i saw this item, so many kids have food allergies now. >> mine don't. it is a big problem. because of our children's allergies they banned peanuts in my kids school. >> anderson: even offer planes they do not do it. kim whitly who came up with this idea for a t-shirt that she started to make and is selling them they say don't feed me t-shirts. >> and gave them to her child. >> anderson: don't feed and it has the name of the child and you check off what the allergy is. what i don't know it seems like that is a recipe for being bullied. >> i think it is a great idea

for younger children like a two or three-year-old you do not want somebody new at the daycare or the school and all of a sudden a camp and making a mistake. once you are five and you should speak up. >> anderson: once are you 16 it is not a good idea. i think a 16-year-old. and on twitter from i've wondered this all my life. continued talking and obviously i think i once fell asleep on a bus standing up. i would fall asleep anywhere. that is why i love long plane rides because like i don't watch

movies. i just pull my hat down and i go to sleep. >> you know what i do when i sit next to somebody like you? i cough a lot and move in my chair. if i cannot sleep why should you? >> anderson: are you kidding? the other reason i do the hat is so i do not see anybody take off their shoes and see the hobbit feet. >> you slept the entire time it was so boring. >> anderson: i am the worst person to fly with people think they will have a long chat with me. and before the plane takes off and all the flight attendants love me because i never request anything. they know i pull down my hat and i am out. anyway. we got to take another break --. >> no, we are done. >> that is it. >> time flies when you are having fun. >> we will pass out the lottery tickets and judge marilyn milian thank you for being with us. weekdays on "the people's court." she will be back on the show on

monday. have a great weekend. bye-bye. >> we have a great week coming up. julian moore is on the program. and padma lakshmi will come back. and kathy griffin will be my co-host next week as well. have a great rest of the weekend. 97

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from a cardiologist who says he has unlocked the safe and effective way to get the weight off. so put everything you know about detoxing out of your mind and meet dr. alejandro junger. he's a cardiologist turned integrative guru termed the father of detox. dr. alejandro junger. his ground-breaking combination of detox foods featured in his "new york times" best-selling book has helped thousands to detox and lose unwanted weight. >> with the right program, many of your health issues like bloating will melt away and your weight will definitely drop. i created the detox when i was diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome. it was a way to find the solution to my health issues. the first thing